Cocktail for This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Legend has it that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his team would win over a visiting English team. For a competitive edge, he organized a grand party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These were notoriously large four-finger measure whisky pours, customarily measured from pinky to index finger. Predictably, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being very hungover and, consequently, vanquished the day after. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg originated.
This Punjabi spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from the Maharaja's beverage. Here, we serve it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've adjusted the formula to make it better suited for a household kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Makes 1 litre, to serve 10-12 portions.
What's Required
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Combine all the ingredients in a large bottle. Pour in 130g water, mix to combine, then place it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for up to three weeks.
For serving, measure out about 90ml of the infused whisky into a old fashioned glass filled with ice (preferably one large cube). Serve promptly. To honour tradition, you could measure it in by hand as they did.
